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| The great Neo-Con Wars of the early 21st century. |
by Greg Allmain
A lot of hype has surrounded Clint Eastwood’s cinematic version of American Sniper, the story of the most prolific sniper in American military history, Chris Kyle, accredited with 160 confirmed kills out of 255 probable kills, clocked up over four tours of duty in Iraq.
Much of the hype surrounding the movie has centered around Bradley Cooper’s performance, and Cooper certainly deserves the credit. While watching the movie, it’s difficult to remember that Cooper largely made his big time breakthrough with the buddy comedy The Hangover, and at least from a cinematic point of view, one can certainly say Cooper carries the film, which is, in some respects, a bit disjointed. Regardless, Eastwood and Cooper combine to give an accurate portrayal of the West’s modern day warriors, something that, not surprisingly, the professional Left throughout the world has found deeply troubling.
Eastwood and Cooper’s portrayal of Kyle, however, continues a relatively recent trend in Hollywood: positive portrayals of the “rough men who stand ready in the night” to do violence against those who would harm the rest of us.
In the world of Eastwood and Cooper’s American Sniper this idea is expressed early in the movie, in a scene involving Kyle as a young boy. He and his family sit around the dining table, sharing a meal, and his father decides the time is ripe to dispense some paternal wisdom:
This theme was also explored in the HBO serial drama True Detective. In a conversation in episode three of that series, the protagonists Marty Hart and Rustin Cohle share a brief exchange touching on the theme:
Which is why it’s all the more surprising to see this theme coming from that leftiest of leftist places, Hollywood. Anyone with the slightest bit of intelligence and discernment can readily ascertain that the type of “leading” men produced by the current Leftist structure are not capable of meeting the threat posed by the likes of those who attacked the Charlie Hebdo offices.
A cursory glance at the “thought” leaders of the Left, and their political allies, yields laughable results. Whether it’s the slovenly visage of Slavoj Zizek,the mom-pants wearing autocue reader Barack Obama, or the Beaker-look-alike Ed Miliband, it’s obvious that none of these men are capable of being effective sheepdogs against the various packs of wolves that are now circling the West.
When the leaders of the still reigning world superpower send James freaking Taylor to sing his sappy songs as their response to an out-and-out terrorist attack, it’s obvious that the wolves are winning, at least for now. The excuses and backpedaling and outright idiocy regarding the wolves that threaten the West no longer fly. Instead, it appears that many are again starting to realize we need sheepdogs like Chris Kyle once again. As Kyle’s Craft International motto reminds everyone: "Despite what your momma told you, violence does solve problems."
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The Superhero as Reactionary Archetype
Much of the hype surrounding the movie has centered around Bradley Cooper’s performance, and Cooper certainly deserves the credit. While watching the movie, it’s difficult to remember that Cooper largely made his big time breakthrough with the buddy comedy The Hangover, and at least from a cinematic point of view, one can certainly say Cooper carries the film, which is, in some respects, a bit disjointed. Regardless, Eastwood and Cooper combine to give an accurate portrayal of the West’s modern day warriors, something that, not surprisingly, the professional Left throughout the world has found deeply troubling.
Eastwood and Cooper’s portrayal of Kyle, however, continues a relatively recent trend in Hollywood: positive portrayals of the “rough men who stand ready in the night” to do violence against those who would harm the rest of us.
In the world of Eastwood and Cooper’s American Sniper this idea is expressed early in the movie, in a scene involving Kyle as a young boy. He and his family sit around the dining table, sharing a meal, and his father decides the time is ripe to dispense some paternal wisdom:
“There are three types of people in this world: sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs,” the father intones gravely. “Some people prefer to believe that evil doesn’t exist in the world, and if it ever darkened their doorstep, they wouldn’t know how to protect themselves. Those are the sheep.”He continues:
“Then you’ve got predators, who use violence to prey on the weak. They’re the wolves. And then there are those blessed with the gift of aggression, an overpowering need to protect the flock. These men are the rare breed who live to confront the wolf. They are the sheepdog.”As already noted, this theme has been explored elsewhere in recent Hollywood history, perhaps most obviously in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. While the character of Batman leads to the idea being examined through a lens of aristocracy and noblesse oblige, it’s easy to make the connection between those films and the speech shared above. Batman is obviously one of the rare breed who exists solely to confront the wolves and protect the sheep.
This theme was also explored in the HBO serial drama True Detective. In a conversation in episode three of that series, the protagonists Marty Hart and Rustin Cohle share a brief exchange touching on the theme:
“Do you wonder ever if you’re a bad man?” Woody Harrelson’s Hart asks.Cooper and Eastwood’s addition to this refreshing trend in Hollywood is certainly welcome. It is surprising, as politically correct as Hollywood has become, to see an honest and open acceptance of this type of man. With the recent goings-on in the world, most notably the attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris, it appears that the West is going to be needing more sheepdogs, and soon.
“No, I don’t wonder,” Matthew McConaughey’s Cohle answers. “World needs bad men. We keep the other bad men from the door.”
Which is why it’s all the more surprising to see this theme coming from that leftiest of leftist places, Hollywood. Anyone with the slightest bit of intelligence and discernment can readily ascertain that the type of “leading” men produced by the current Leftist structure are not capable of meeting the threat posed by the likes of those who attacked the Charlie Hebdo offices.
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| The sheepfold without dogs: Charlie Hebdo after some feedback from readers. |
A cursory glance at the “thought” leaders of the Left, and their political allies, yields laughable results. Whether it’s the slovenly visage of Slavoj Zizek,the mom-pants wearing autocue reader Barack Obama, or the Beaker-look-alike Ed Miliband, it’s obvious that none of these men are capable of being effective sheepdogs against the various packs of wolves that are now circling the West.
When the leaders of the still reigning world superpower send James freaking Taylor to sing his sappy songs as their response to an out-and-out terrorist attack, it’s obvious that the wolves are winning, at least for now. The excuses and backpedaling and outright idiocy regarding the wolves that threaten the West no longer fly. Instead, it appears that many are again starting to realize we need sheepdogs like Chris Kyle once again. As Kyle’s Craft International motto reminds everyone: "Despite what your momma told you, violence does solve problems."
Connected Articles:
Unbroken: A White Christmas Arrives
Judge Dredd: Hero of the Anti-Civilization
The Superhero as Reactionary Archetype
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